Arthropod parasites of Antarctic and Subantarctic birds and pinnipeds: A review of host-parasite associations

• Published in: International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife
• Main Authors: Ralph Eric Thijl Vanstreels, Ricardo L. Palma, Sergey V. Mironov
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020
• Subjects: Arthropoda; Carnivora; Ecology; Parasite; Polar biology; Seabird; Zoology; QL1-991; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2020.03.007; https://doaj.org/article/f1b245eaa9f5482f8a9f523a48159cdf

Due to its cold and dry climate and scarcity of ice-free land, Antarctica has one of the most extreme environments on our planet. To survive in the Antarctic region, parasitic arthropods must either remain closely associated with their hosts throughout the entire life cycle or develop physiological adaptations to survive in the terrestrial habitat while their hosts are away foraging at sea or overwintering at lower latitudes. Forty-eight species of birds and seven species of pinnipeds breed in the Antarctic region, with 158 species/subspecies of parasitic arthropods recorded thus far, comprising: sucking lice (Echinophthiriidae), chewing lice (Menoponidae, Philopteridae), fleas (Ceratophyllidae, Pygiopsyllidae, Rhopalopsyllidae), pentastomes (Reighardiidae), hard ticks (Ixodidae), nest-associated haematophagous mites (Laelapidae), nasal mites (Halarachnidae, Rhinonyssidae) and feather mites (Alloptidae, Avenzoariidae, Xolalgidae, Freyanidae). In this review, we provide an updated compilation of the available information on the host-parasite associations of arthropods infesting birds and pinnipeds in the Antarctic region, and discuss some over-arching ecological patterns and gaps of knowledge.